Undergraduate nursing students at the University of Colorado Anschutz College of Nursing are required to complete a certain number of clinical hours to earn their degree. The clinical hours are in different areas of nursing, like the ER, labor and delivery, and pediatrics. Three students, Isabella Bovero, Ashton Bridges, and Makenna Brannon, who are in the college’s Accelerated (UCAN) BS in Nursing program, talked about their experience at Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, where they spent the day learning about being a flight nurse with HCA HealthONE's AirLife team.
Q: What did you and other students do during this clinical experience?
Isabella Bovero (IB): We were at Sky Ridge for eight shifts as part of our complex care clinicals [some other complex care clinical sites include the ER, ICU, and med surge], so we were able to talk to the Air Life nurses and other staff, see their equipment, and get a tour of the helicopter. They told us what it was like being a flight nurse, which was really cool.
Makenna Brannon (MB): It was interesting to see what the flight nurses do when they have a patient and have to bring them to (or from) the helicopter. We had an opportunity to ask questions, which was really beneficial.
Q: What did you take away from this experience?
MB: I’m interested in doing flight nursing, so one thing I’ll take away is learning the path of what it takes to be a flight nurse. They explained to us the different types of experience you need, the knowledge, and the different scopes of practice.
Ashton Bridges (AB): I was struck by the variety of experiences flight nurses have. They push you to have experiences in different types of nursing. This experience is making me consider being a flight nurse, which is something I hadn’t thought of before.
“My favorite part was seeing a new clinical experience and understanding the different paths we can go down as nurses. It was so beneficial to ask questions and ask them about their favorite parts of their job." – BS in Nursing student Makenna Brannon
IB: I thought it was interesting how flight nurses have a lot of autonomy – they’re up in the air and aren’t always in contact with other nurses or doctors, so they have to make a lot of decisions on their own. They have to have good critical thinking skills.
Q: What surprised you the most about flight nursing?
AB: I was shocked at how they can fit everything they need into such a small space [the helicopter].
BS in Nursing students Ashton Bridges and Makenna Brannon in an AirLife helicopter. |
IB: The size of the helicopter! Sometimes, family members can’t go in the helicopter because there’s not a lot of room. It was also interesting to hear how they service not only Colorado, but also nearby states, and the nurses sometimes work 48-hour shifts.
MB: It was great to see that a career like this is attainable, and it was awesome meeting the humans behind it and seeing their teamwork and dedication to patients.
Q: Why is it critical for you as nursing students to get exposed to different types of nursing and healthcare settings?
MB: It’s important for us as students to understand what’s out there for us. If you don’t have healthcare experience [it’s a requirement for CU Anschutz Nursing’s Accelerated pathway], you may not see all the possibilities that are out there for us. When I came into the program, I didn’t fully understand all the areas of nursing, so it’s great for us to have the experiences.
IB: I came from a non-healthcare background before I got into nursing, so I had no idea what type of nursing I wanted to do. We had shifts at Children’s Hospital, and then I got to go into the OR, which I fell in love with. I didn’t even know that was an option for nurses, so I think clinicals open our eyes to all the possibilities available for us.
AB: There are so many different opportunities in nursing, and areas of nursing can be so different from each other. Seeing what your day might look like in different types of nursing gives you a lot to look forward to, wherever our careers take us.
Q: Can you give some advice to current or future nursing students so they can prepare for their clinical rotations?
IB: Keep an open mind, even if you have an area of nursing you’re already interested in. You might be surprised by what you fall in love with when you’re doing clinicals. And never miss an opportunity. If there’s a skill you get a chance to do, just do it! Even if you’ve done it before, there’s always room for improvement.
MB: Be open to change and understand that once you’re exposed to something, it might pique your interest. Try to put yourself out there and get as many opportunities as you can so you can experience different things.
